Dental tool angle



Dec. 18, 1934. N, TA1-HAM DENTAL TOOL ANGLE Filed March 27, 1953 INVENTOIT:

Patented Dec. 18, 1934 -UN1ITED` STATES Q;EffFfltCE 1,984,663: Y i f i DENTAL` krroofLfA'NGIlE Norman reinem, Los Allg-cles; oalirgassigmr* to.y H. P. `De Witt,1LosfAngeleaCalif. i Application March a7, v1933sain Natcaesc .1 zlolaims. (ci. ca -2i) ThisI invention relates 'to devices used' by'l denl tistsr-and the. like professionals'byfwhich a drill or similar tool used in the mouth of .a client re-i ceivesitslmotion.ifromeva power source.

5 One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device designed to facilitate a sterilizing of a tool in every detail part inside and outside.

Another object is to split housing parts, held together by adjoining sleeve or head parts.

1o Another object is to provide an adjustment whereby the front end can be adjusted to and held in different positions.

Other objects will appear from the following description and appended claims as well as from the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a slightly enlarged longitudinal midsectional view of a device designed to function according to this invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Devices of the type referred to here are generally designed to hold small tools such as a drill in its front end and having its rear end designed to be attached to and operated by a flexible shaft.

The short shaft 3 in the front head 4 should therefore be understood to be designed to receive and hold such small tools in the customary manner.

This shaft 3 is provided with a small gear 5 meshed with the end-gear 6 on the shaft 7, which is provided with another end-gear 8 on the opposite end, the gear 8 being meshed with the end-gear 9 on the shaft 10, of which the end 11 extends outwardly from this device and is designed to be connected to a flexible shaft in the customary manner.

A housing 12, serving also as the bearing for the shaft '7, is preferably made in longitudinally split portions or halves, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2, the end 13 being screwed into the head 4 and is thereby held together, while the opposite end is provided with an annular shoulder 14 and otherwise finished to turnably receive the screw-cap 15, which is provided with a corresponding shouldered portion 16 to firmly but turnably engage this end of the housing 12,

thereby holding this end together.

The opposite fiat faces of the housing 12 are well enough fitted to retain a sufficient amount of a suitable lubricant when the halves are screwed and clamped together as described above, with the shaft '7 turnable therein.

The threaded engagement at 17, between the 55 sleeve or screw-cap 15 and the one end of the adjoining; housing 18, serves to yhold together: thisend offthealso split housingf18':

While the'end-gearpn theoneend offthe shaft? 10 abutsiagainst onel end vof .thersplit hous-` ing 18, a shoulder-ring 19 is provided on the 5 shaft 10 to abut against the opposite end of the housing 18.

As stated, the sleeve or screw-cap 15 engaging over one end of the housing 18 by the screwengagement 17, a handle-sleeve 20 is provided 10 with a screw-engagement 21 whereby the opposite end of the housing is held together. A short sleeve 22 is disposed between the handle-sleeve 20 and the split housing 18, serving to hold together that end of the housing when the screw- 15 cap 15 is loosened for certain adjustments, keeping the housing also together and assembled while the whole front end is unscrewed.

For sterilizing purposes it is very desirable that each and every part of such a device can be 20 separated to assure a really perfect sterilizing, since in the joints and between the several parts and even inside of the housing parts of such a device infecting matter may accumulate, and since the front end particularly should require 2 frequent disassembling, the screw-cap 15 serves exactly this purpose, and the insert sleeve 21 is intended to reach far enough over the front-end of the rearmost housing to maintain this rearmost housing 18 assembled whenever so desired. 30

Whenever the screw-cap 15 is unscrewed, the housing 12 as well as the end-gear 8 easily slip out of the end of the rearmost housing 18, the end-gears 8 and 9 being designed so that they will mesh well directly endwise as well as at 35 slightly inclined positions or angles with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft l0, nevertheless, these gears 8 and 9 engage more like coupling members in an endwise direction.

The retaining of the rearmost housing 18 in its 40 assembled condition or position by the sleeve 22, and also the loosening of the front housing 12 by the screw-cap 15 serves, furthermore, to free the small end-teeth engagement, indicated at 23, between the front-housing 12 and the rear- 45 housing 18, by which the setting of these small teeth in the opposing faces of the two housings can be accomplished in such a manner that the front head 4 can be turned to different positions with respect to the bend in the angle connection of the device.

In other words, the drill or tool-holding end of the head 4 can be made to point eventually towards the side at which the angle of the device points, being practically in the manner illustrated in the drawing; while the front or toolholding end of the head may also be turned or adjusted to point sidewise or at any angle radially with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 'T in the front-housing 12, the small teeth of the engagement at 23 being also really mere end coupling members, the smallness of the teeth being selected in order to allow very short turningadjustments between the two housings to make this tool o1"l device very adaptable for work in almost any direction `while the main handle part of the device remains in the same position Within the hand of the operator who eventually may be used to handling such a device in a cer tain manner with respect to the main angle of the device While the drill or inserted tool may point in different directions.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, longitudinally split housing portions made in pairs, one of said pairs having a bent-end Vwith a central longitudinal axis at an angle to the central longitudinal axis of the larger part of this pair, joiningl portions engaging and holding said housing portions, one of said joining portions engaging and holding another of said pairs to the bent-end of the first-named pair thereby forming a bend in the assembled adjoining pairs of the housingfand operating means turnably disposed in and through the assembled adjoining pairs and joining portions and adapted to be separated to be sterilized inside and outside Where hollow and joined.

2.v In a device of the class described, longitudinally split housing portions made in pairs, one of said pairs having a bent-end with a central axis atan angle to the central longitudinal axis of the Vother portions of this pair, joining portions engaging and holding said housing portions, the end-faces of adjoining housing portions including said bent-end being provided with fine engaging teeth whereby joined housing portions can be turnably adjusted to different positions Within short fractions of a turn, and operating means disposed in and through the assembled adjoining housing portions and through thejoining portions.

NORMAN TATHAM. 

